Xinjiang plums are popular in the Chinese market because their fragrance is rich and sweet. These plums enter the market between August and October, which slightly overlaps with the sales season of import plums. This year the Xinjiang plums reached their ideal flavor around Mid-Autumn Festival [10 September, 2022]. Mr. Wei Wenxiong of Guangzhou Litian Fruit Trade Co., Ltd., a manager with many years of experience in the plum market, recently talked about current conditions and market trends.
"The production volume of Xinjiang plums expands every year as plantation technology improves, fertilizer usage is optimized, and management experience grows. In addition, many of the plum trees matured in the last two years, so the harvest is abundant. This year the production volume expanded by around 20%. Moreover, product quality and flavor are more or less the same as last year, but much better than a few years ago."
"This year the overall price of plums was better than in previous years." According to Mr. Wei there are two reasons for this development. First, the product quality is stable. Second, the pandemic disrupted transport in Xinjiang earlier in the season, so the delivery volume declined and the price went up.
Mr. Wei also shared his prediction for market developments after Mid-Autumn Festival. "This year the festival takes place in the middle of the Xinjiang plum season. Sales were quite good in the first half of the season, but the sales volume and price are expected to come down after the festival. However, the product quality and flavor is quite good this year, so I do not expect the price to drop much.
"The market generally recovers about 10 days after the festival, then consumption levels will return to normal. In addition, consumers who tasted high-quality Xinjiang plums during the festive period will likely come back for more, so we expect high numbers of return-clients. In the days before National Day [1 October, 2022], there will be another sales peak. After National Day the sales volume and price will come down again, and this time they may not recover. That is nearly the end of the sales season for Xinjiang plums, and prunes will gradually take their place."
Plums require abundant sunshine, more than 14 hours per day. The high temperatures and dry weather did not harm the plums this year. On the contrary, frequent rainfall early in the season always has a negative impact on the plums. Apart from that, Xinjiang farmers were not finished harvesting the plums when the region suffered from new Covid-19 outbreaks. That reduced the delivery volume of Xinjiang plums, but the leftover plums can perhaps still be turned into prunes.
Guangzhou Litian Fruit Trade primarily sells in wholesale markets. The company sells a wide variety of import fruits and premium domestic fruits. The import fruits include stone fruits, citrus fruits, grapes, and cherries from Australia, South Africa, Chile, and the USA. Premium domestic fruits include blueberries, Shine Muscat grapes, lychee, Shandong cherries, and Xinjiang plums.
For more information:
Mr. Wei Wenxiong
Guangzhou Litian Fruit Trade Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 138 2848 5322
Tel.: +86 20 8179 4121
E-mail: 13828485322@139.com